The gang walks home from the Bronze. Things are nice and quiet.. no Dru and Spike, no more order of Taraka. Buffy gets home and hears a clatter in the kitchen. She walks in and her mom is kissing some guy. Her mother introduces Ted... her new boyfriend. The gang files into the kitchen and Buffy acts very... tart, but Willow and Xander love Ted. He's into software, hence the Willow-loveage, and he can cook, hence the Xander-loving.
So, Buffy goes out and pummels a few vamps. Nothing like really going out and killing something to release tension. Giles senses that there is something wrong, but she's tight lipped. Then she uses vampires as a metaphor for Ted.
Buffy senses that there is something wrong, but the Willow and Xander say that it's who he is to her mother and not anything specific. And, lucky day; Ted shows up. And invites them to miniature golf. He offers food, so Xander is in. Buffy tries to get out of it, but Xander makes them go.
Giles speaks to Jenny for the first time since she was possessed by Ighon. They exchange awkward but good conversation. She pushes him away. He leaves.
Buffy goes to take care of Angel and rags about Ted. He tries to give the wise approach: maybe her mother needs someone. She expresses how she wishes it was her dad. Angel convinces her to put up with him and give him a chance.
They go miniature golfing. Xander eats the food, Buffy sulks. He tries to make friendly conversation... then he brings up her grades; giving a very fatherly remark. She misses a shot and Joyce says they won't count it. He goes postal on how it's the rules. She walks around to get her ball and ends up cheating by simply putting it in the hole. Ted is watching. Goes postal, calls her little lady. He yells at her about rules and threatens to hit her. Then, the gang comes around and he drops it.
The next day, Buffy is talking to her mother and he mother lets it slip that she loves him. Buffy tells her that he threatened to hit her. But, her mother says that he told her that she was cheating. So, her mother just cruises over it. Buffy walks out.
Buffy asks Willow to look into the guy. The others still say she's over reacting. Xander and Cordy then have another janitor closet moment. Buffy still expresses her concerns to Willow and she agrees to help. Willow finds out where he works and Buffy goes to his office. She then discovers that he is telling everyone that he is engaged to Joyce. Buffy finds a picture of her mother on his desk where her half has been cut out.
Buffy and her mother have dinner with Ted that evening. He pulls super holy father routine. Buffy asks if they are engaged. Her mother says no. Ted says that he hopes. Buffy says that she'd feel like killing her self if that happened. She asks to be excused. She goes to her room and crawls out the window to go try and slay vamps.
She gets home and Ted is in her room and has read her diary and gone through all her things.. He says all of her stuff is his business. Then he says that the vampire stuff is dilusional. She tells him to give her back her diary. He hits her. So, she hits him back. They exchange hitting. He falls down the stairs and breaks his neck.
The police come and Buffy explains that he hit her, but there is not bruise. She says she doesn't bruise easily. They don't seem to believe her. The next day at school, everyone knows and Buffy feels like an outcast. She is major guilty about killing a person. She goes to Giles who tells her that the police were asking him questions. But, he testified to her good behavior.
In the library, Xander is yelling about Ted. He's super mad. Then, he finds some of Ted's cookies in his bag. He eats some and all of a sudden goes all soft. Willow figures that there is some kind of chemical in them. She does tests and all of his food had drugs in it to make everyone submissive.
Cordy finds an address on Ted and some marriage certificates. Meanwhile, Giles goes on patrol and Jenny joins him. They have a major reconsiliation moment. Way sweet. But, a vamp interrupts.
Buffy goes to her room and finds that her window is nailed shut. Then, Ted shows up in her room. Well, it becomes obvious that he's not dead. He throws her around.
Giles attempts to slay the vamp. The vamp tackles Giles. Jenny whips out a cross bow. She accidentally hits Giles with it. He pulls it out and kills the vamp.
Ted starts to strangle her. Then, she stabs him with a nail file. His system goes haywire. He knocks Buffy out and goes after her mother.
Willow, Xander, and Cordy go to his house and find a labratory. She finds that Ted has been married four times, and the first was in 1957. They find a bomb shelter downstairs and the dead bodies of Ted's other wives are stashed in the closet.
Ted comes up to Joyce in the kitchen and they embrace. He starts to get forceful with her. His wires get crossed and he starts to creep her out. He knocks her out. Buffy walks in and tackles him. They have a huge battle. His face tears off... go figure; he's a computer. She knocks him with a frying pan a couple times until he short circuits.
Back at school, they figure out that the original Ted was really smart and dying and his wife left him. He builds a better one of himself. Then the robot is programmed to take back his wife. Buffy tries to go to the library, but Jenny and Giles are frenching.